Chicago lesbian novelist Anne Laughlin has added another honor to her distinguished career. Her novel “Runaway” (Bold Strokes Books) was selected recently as a 2012 Lambda Literary Award finalist.
“Runaway” is a mystery with romantic elements. It follows Chicago-based private investigator Jan as she searches for Maddy, a suburban teenage runaway. What begins as a seemingly ordinary case soon develops into something more. Maddy’s possible connection to a radical group echoes something from Jan’s past that she had hoped to leave behind her. To make matters worse, a passionate workplace romance with Jan’s new boss Catherine threatens to derail not only her investigation, but also the life she has worked so hard to keep concealed.
Writer John Basil grew up in New Jersey, but Milwaukee is in his DNA. “My father graduated from Marquette and growing up in our house, you’d think it was the only school that ever existed,” the Whitefish Bay resident says. “I had Marquette tunnel vision after they won the national championship in basketball in ’77. Marquette was the only school I wanted to attend; the only one I even applied to.”
Gimbels 1924 building faced the Milwaukee River. -PHOTO: departmentstoremuseum.blogspot.com
Author Paul Geenen has a fondness for writing about Milwaukee. His first book, “Milwaukee’s Bronzeville: 1900–1950,” was published in 2006. In his second and third books, “Schuster’s & Gimbels: Milwaukee’s Beloved Department Stores” and “Sherman Park: A Legacy of Diversity in Milwaukee,” both published in 2012, Geenen continues to regale readers with fascinating facts from Milwaukee’s history.
The “Fifty Shades” phenomenon will only get hotter this fall.
Alexandria, Va., and Knoxville, Tenn., are cities for readers, if not always the kinds of books your parents wanted you to read.
Alexandria and Knoxville ranked No. 1 and No. 2 on Amazon.com’s annual list of U.S. cities buying the most books, newspapers and magazines per capita from the online retailer.
The American Library Association’s LGBT roundtable – the Rainbow Project – has published its annual Rainbow List of 150 books for youth.
The jury included Francesca Burgess, Jane L. Cothron, Christie L. R. Gibrich (incoming chair, 2014), Christine Jenkins, Adela Peskorz, Victor Lynn Schill and Anna C. White.
Michael Lowenthal will read and sign books along with “Monstress” author Lysley Tenero at 2 p.m. on Sat., Nov. 10, at Boswell Books, 2559 N. Downer Ave., in Milwaukee. At 8 p.m. on Sat., Nov. 10, Lowenthal will read and sign books as part of the Wisconsin Book Festival at the Wisconsin Studio in the Overture Center, 201 State St., in Madison. -PHOTO: John Gransky
Gaybies are popping up all over. Not only do we have our own TV show, but this fall we were lucky to have a new novel from Michael Lowenthal exploring gay male parenting and surrogacy “The Paternity Test.” Amid the familiar stereotypes and slapstick comedy of NBC’s hit series “The New Normal,” Lowenthal’s new novel is a thrilling, funny, sexy and psychologically complex look at a gay male couple and their efforts to have a baby to meet their deep yearning for a child and, perhaps, as a way to recommit to their relationship.
Aaron Cross (Jeremy Renner) doesn’t realize it, but he has some big shoes to fill. A soldier recruited by the CIA to be a pharma guinea pig, Aaron survives his solo time in the frozen wild and beats the best record for doing so by two days, fueled by a pair of colorful “chems.” But shortly after getting the good news he finds himself under attack, narrowly escaping a missile delivered by drone. However, Aaron’s not the only one. Three other “outcomes” like him have already met their early deaths.
Sarah Palin has a new book coming, this time about Christmas.
The former Republican vice presidential candidate and Alaska governor has a deal with HarperCollins for "A Happy Holiday IS a Merry Christmas," scheduled for November. HarperCollins announced Monday that the book will criticize the ``over-commercialism'' and "homogenization" of Christmas and call for a renewed emphasis on the religious importance.
The story of 2012 in publishing was the story of “Fifty Shades of Grey,” in more ways than one.
EL James’ erotic trilogy was easily the year’s biggest hit, selling more than 35 million copies in the United States alone and topping bestseller lists for months.
Steven James.
In Milwaukee in 1997, just a few years after the horrors of Jeffrey Dahmer, a copycat serial killer is at work. This is the setting for the latest installment in author Steven James’ The Bowers Files series, featuring detective Patrick Bowers. Titled “Opening Moves” (Signet Select, 2012), this novel is a prequel, retroactively setting the stage for James’ previous Bowers’ books.
St. Sukie de la Croix -Photo: Corey Black
Before he became a saint, Sukie de la Croix and I just missed crossing paths as members of New Town Writers, the Chicago gay writers’ group. But shortly thereafter, the native of Bath, England, and I found we were both writing for what would be the first in a series of Chicago LGBT publications, some of which are now defunct.
